A Rose Born from Deceit
by Sepulchral-Roses
Summary: Azula has just escaped her confinement in the Fire Nation's stronghold. While she raises hell for the new regime, the time comes to choose between war and understanding. The gaang must relearn the meaning of trust and whom to impart it on.Read and Review!
1. Prologue

Curt, purposeful footsteps came down the hall, to enter the throne room. The wearied new Firelord glanced up at his spymaster, who bowed.

"Your Majesty, we have intelligence that the rebellion is growing stronger. There have been numerous disappearances and threats made; our network has been counteracting them to the best of our abilities."

The spymaster faltered slightly, not wanting to add more to the burden of the young Firelord.

Zuko sighed. "What is it? There's something you've left out."

"There was a breach in the high security prison, Your Majesty. All prisoners but one were caught and detained." He leveled his gaze with the teen's as a glimmer of dark understanding crossed the boy's face.

"Azula."

Zuko rose from his throne, stepping lightly off the raised dais. "Would you mind, Teishu? Alert Aa- the Avatar and the rest of my councilors, please. This needs to be discussed immediately."

Teishu nodded respectfully, but maintained his position. "Sir?"

Zuko turned to him, gesturing for him to speak.

"They have already been alerted, though the cause of the meeting was not mentioned. They will arrive on the morrow. Lady Mai awaits outside the chamber."

Despite himself, Zuko looked faintly amused. "You expect my reactions well. I'm only thankful that you know me so well, Teishu. And must I remind you once more? There is no need for formalities. Just please, call me Zuko."

Teishu nodded, straightening when he caught himself bowing. With a smile, he left the room.

Mai entered from a passageway behind the throne, rolling her eyes. "Even when I'm silent and invisible, your spies always know I'm there."

She tugged on a strand of his hair. "If you keep worrying, Zuko, you're going to go gray before you turn twenty. Azula's escape was only to be expected. Did you really expect her to stay locked up? Even when her mind's half gone?"

"I hoped. And an Azula half mad worries me more than a sane Azula. Who knows what conspiracies and ideas she's got into her head now?" He paced around her.

Mai _tsked_, catching him by the shoulders. Looking squarely into his surprised face, she told him almost sternly, "You've changed, Zuko. You weren't always this paranoid."

Shrugging out of her grip, he shook his head. "I wasn't the wisest kid either, Mai," he said quietly. "I wasted most of my life uselessly, trying to get into my father's heart. I was born into the wrong side of the war, and thought that my place was the one society gave me. I couldn't see past my own needs!"

"But you're not like that anymore! You need to take some time to relax!"

"I'm not like that because Uncle helped me. But he isn't here right now, and I've got to keep this nation running without him. And for that, I've got to be ready to look both ways! I can't just turn the other cheek when something happens. There's no taking what she'll give, and there's no ignoring it either! Just yesterday my war minister disappeared!" Sparks danced at his fingertips, and the fire in front of his throne sprang up.

"I know," she said tersely. "But running the country doesn't mean that you have to leave everything else!"

In the time since the end of the war, she had grown slightly more expressive, though her mood ranged only as far from bored to annoyed or, on an especially good day, somewhat content yet moody.

"You don't understand these things, Mai. You didn't grow up with a father or sister like mine. You didn't grow up in the midst of politics."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You forget that I was here more than I was ever at home, Zuko. I _did_ grow up with politics. And your sister used to be my friend. I'm not ignorant about this stuff."

He sighed. "I'm going to prepare for tomorrow's meeting. You can join me for dinner if you want afterwards." He strode out of the room, leaving Mai more than a little cross.

These small disagreements were growing ever more frequent between them. She only hoped he wouldn't do something rash.

* * *

"Okay, Sparky, what're we here for?" Toph's charming and ladylike demeanor made itself apparent as she put her dirt-encrusted bare feet on the table.

Rolling his eyes, he looked around at the five of them.

"Well, to put it lightly, Azula has escaped from prison, formed an underground rebellion called the Mehrs, and has begun attacking the delicate balance of the rule by doing away with various of the higher nobles who work under me."

Various degrees of shock sprouted on their faces, though Mai, as usual, remained passive.

"Well, obviously, we've got to stop them," Sokka reasoned, always somewhat practical.

"How did she get out?" Katara seemed almost a little afraid. That last battle with Azula had been fought under sheer force of adrenaline and anger – she knew that the older girl was exceedingly powerful.

Putting his hand on her arm comfortingly, Aang asked, "Is there anything we can do to stop the rebellion before it gets too far?"

"I don't think there's anything we can do right now, but there will no doubt be some of her spies at the diplomatic talks in Katai Shi a few months from now. That's the one great city that was never conquered during the war. To her, it must be like a sore thumb; she'll want it for her collection."

"Then we'll go there and stop anyone trying to bring down the city." Aang wasn't comfortable with Azula roaming free, either – being murdered once by her was more than enough.

Sokka shook his head. "No, you can't. You, Katara, and Zuko are too easily recognizable. Everyone knows your faces now that you guys took down Azula and Ozai down."

"But we've got to do _something_! You don't expect us to sit back and let Azula kill everybody and start another war, do you?" Katara's face was set in her usual determined manner. She wasn't one to let innocent people get hurt where she could help.

Sokka flinched. "She's not killing anybody. Not when we can do something about it. Because we can."

Toph grinned. "You've got a plan."

He smiled. "Yep."

Zuko looked slightly relieved. "What're we going to do?"

"_You're_ not doing anything." He looked pointedly at Zuko, Mai, Katara, and Aang.

"Toph and I are going to go to Katai Shi. They don't know us as well as they know you. I'm a non-bender, and Toph isn't really the face of this team, either. We can go there undercover."

"Sweet." Toph nodded in agreement. "I can knock some of those dunderheads' heads together!"

"I don't like it." Aang couldn't let his friends be put into such danger.

"Neither do I," Zuko shook his head.

"Look. You and Mai are needed here. Aang can't just suddenly disappear and go undercover when people are still looking to him to trust the Fire Nation. And Katara is needed to finish rebuilding the South Pole. There aren't enough Waterbenders to do the job without her." He leaned forward across the table that served as a world map.

Mai shook her head with a sigh. "He's right. None of the rest of us can be spared."

He leaned back, satisfied. There was only one loophole in his logic, and she had just sewn it shut. Mai could've gone with them if she'd wanted, since her role was somewhat minimal on the world scale.

* * *

Azula huffed, irritated yet relieved at the ignorance of the prison guards. She was dressed as one of them, with the traditional dragon head mask. Her mother followed closely behind her, with no disguise. She must've been a regular visitor – the guards never gave her a second glance.

She had been raising followers despite being locked up, and her officers had followed her orders satisfactorily. Enough of Zuzu's councilors and nobles had disappeared that he was getting worried. She smiled. Perfect.

It had been a couple days since she had left her cell, with the Warden locked inside and bleeding from a head wound. A couple times, Mai, Ty Lee, her mother, or her father visited her cell, talking to her.

But they'd always disappear when she'd shout at them, dissolving into thin wisps of air that were gone by the time a guard thought to check on her.

Once, Long Feng came in, to tell her that her phoenixes had all roosted, but the dragons were eating them alive, flames and all. She had kicked him then, but he didn't flinch. "They're good, your dragons. They may be creatures of fire, but their stability is _so _Earthbender." He walked through the wall and away.

"Stop following me, mother." She looked over the battlements at the lights shining from the palace, her old home.

She looked back, to find her mother with an arm around a thirteen-year-old Zuko.

Azula shook her head. "I've got to get out of here. This place is making me go mad." She whispered quietly to herself.

Walking to the entrance guard, she saluted in the manner reserved for equals. It hurt her dignity to salute to a mere, foolish guard, but there was no other way.

"Shift's over. I'm to relieve you."

"Yes ma'am." The guard bowed, subconsciously feeling the authority hidden in the former princess's voice.

Within minutes, she had jumped off the tower, sliding down the wall with her firebending to propel her.

She had chosen her descent in the corner between the sentry turret and the high fortress wall, making it virtually impossible to be seen. At the bottom, she discarded the clunky, gaudy armor and mask, escaping unnoticed into the forest.

An envoy would meet her there soon, as planned.

Ursa continued to watch her daughter silently, hovering a few inches off the bramble-strewn ground. Her voice echoed inside Azula's head. "I _love_ you Azula. I do. And I care about you. Fear _isn't_ the only reliable way. You need to trust people! Trust that your brother will do the right thing for the nation."

She growled, lashing out at her with a volley of fire. "You never cared! I was a monster to you!"

But she was gone.

* * *

**The last thing Ursa says is taken directly from the show.**

**I hope everything is in character!**

**I know, Mai is a bit too expressive, but how would you have her argue?**

**Poor, overworked Zuko...**

**So this is a prologue - I realized around the time I started writing chapters four and five that I never explained several things, so this was necessary. And I've noticed that people tend to read these stories if they start with canon characters, as opposed to OCs.**

******Do tell what you think!**


	2. First Impressions: A Lie

A pair of warm brown eyes opened, staring up at the dusty ceiling as if to discern meaning from the whorls of cobwebs. They were as if startled, wide with the vividity of the dream and the suddenness of it's close. "Naina!" Her door opened, the bright chink of light falling directly across her face. "Naina, it's late. You need to get ready so you're not late _again_. Naina! Wake up!" She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yes, mamá, I will!"

As mamá walked away, she reached over to the side of her bed, flicking on the flame of her lamp. The room was flooded with even more light, driving her dreams away. She listened, waiting until her mother had reached the kitchen below, where the noises of the morning streamed in through the window.

Naina rolled off her bed, landing silently like a cat, on all fours. Peeking beneath the too-long sheets, she withdrew her worn notebook and jumped up. Grabbing her writing brush, she tried as best as she could to empty onto the paper her overflowing mind.

Interrupted by the soft footsteps penetrating past her door, she gasped, shoving the book out of sight. Quickly moving to her closet, she listened for her mother's entrance while pretending to rummage for the appropriate clothes. "Naina! What are you _doing_?! You need to be in the shower _now_ if you don't want to be late! What is it with you!"

Mamá stood with her arms crossed, glaring impatiently at her procrastinating daughter. Naina sighed, wincing in frustration. No more writing just then. She grabbed clothes randomly, walking to the bathroom under mamá's admonishing stare.

"I don't know what to do with you," mamá sighed. "Somehow, you always waste just enough time to be in late." Not receiving an answer, she threw up her hands, muttering in Solanese. From inside the bathroom, Naina said tiredly, "Mamá, I'm not wasting time. I had to choose clothes and make sure that they are fitting for today's schedule."

Of course, lying was wrong, but, in her opinion, it was necessary when circumstance called for it. Unfortunately enough, circumstance presented itself more often that not. Besides, no one ever caught her lying; she was too accomplished in the task. Her face was always sincere, even when her mouth went in an opposite direction.

After brushing her teeth, showering, and attending to the more mundane activities of life, she glanced at the old clock on the wall with a grin. She'd be able to write on the way – she had a few extra minutes and could afford to walk slowly. Dancing across the room, she put her tattered notebook into her bag, hefting it onto her shoulders.

Downstairs, she paused to take a pastry to eat on the way, and again to wear her shoes. "Bye Mamá, bye Pador!" Her father looked up from his breakfast, giving her a smile in return as mamá called out from another room. Squeezing past the tiny space left by the giant decorative potted plant to leave, she walked a ways, until her actions couldn't be seen from her house.

Looking up, she noticed the dark, writhing mass of clouds above, and streaks of lightning at the edges of the storm. Shrugging, she grabbed her book from her bag, pulling up the hood of her cloak in anticipation of the storm to come.

Carefully, she penned part of her story, writing about a dangerous escapee from prison.

_Zaira tread carefully, knowing that Azula would be arriving soon. How would she explain the disappearance of the second in command? She kept her keen eyes trained ahead, while pacing silently, trying in vain to come up with a reason for why she, a stranger and a servant was there to meet Azula, a ruthless leader. In her thoughts, she nearly missed a curious sight ahead._

_One of the squirabbits hopping about had been traversing a straight path suddenly veered to the left, rolling in its surprise – something had blocked it from going ahead. Curious, it sniffed the area, bumping its sensitive nose against what had seemed to be air, but solid._

_Zaira frowned – it was odd behavior for any animal, and furthermore, air couldn't rebound a running creature. It was impossible. She walked forward, dropping down suddenly as she crossed the space. _Air_ had tripped her. She fell face first, her cloak's hood falling over her head as it came forward._

In her focus, she forgot to watch her feet, and they broke the steady yet silent rhythm they usually kept, falling on the roots of a protruding tree.

Just before she hit the ground, she saw the lightning as it came towards her, preceding the rain that usually marked it.

_Azula frowned, ducking beneath the trees as the guards passed. She was reduced to hiding in the shadows, like a thief before her own home. But not for long; soon she would be returned to her position as the commander of a most powerful Fire Nation Army, and she would fight. She would fight for her country, to bring it back, alive, from the realms of humiliation._

_She delved deeper into the forest, seeking her rendezvous' with the second of the rebel group she was the spearhead of. Her lethally golden eyes flicked about, her feet making no sound among the dried leaves littering the ground. _Such dirty work for someone of such high class, picking among the underbrush with nigh a servant. All there are here are these horrid animals running across my feet. But I mustn't complain, it's beneath me.

_Something larger than squirabbit moved across the periphery of her vision, almost tripping as it walked. With not a though of hesitation, she channeled the energy of the world, shooting it through her outstretched fingertips._

Naina gasped as the lightning hit her side with full electrical energy, sending jolts throughout her bloodstream, full of electrolytes. It spread from her hip through her torso, flowing to the extremities and –

- And _receding_, leaving an odd tingling sensation in her fingertips. She looked up, vision slightly blurred from the fall and the electricity's combined effects, to find herself in a forest.

The sensory overload reached her electrified brain, making her faint just as a woman with outstretched fingertips came into view.

Azula stared for a moment, debating whether to finish the wretch or to question her. Unfortunately enough, she hadn't quite regained her powers just yet, her temporary trip to the lands of insanity leaving its mark on her pride. Otherwise, the girl would have died with that first bolt.

Just as she was gathering the energy to strike again, the girl stirred, blinking confused eyes and looking up at her. "Who are you," Azula demanded.

"My name is Na-Zaira, ma'am." Naina cursed internally, keeping her face passive. She didn't know how or why, but she was talking – face to face even – with one of the characters in her story. A character more lethal and dangerous than any other. All she knew was that Zaira had been there, waiting for Azula, who had never met her before. So that's the name she took.

Azula frowned. "Why did you hesitate?" Her piercing glare stood almost on par with Naina's passive one. There was no way a lie could be detected.

Naina stood, bowing deeply in the traditional Fire Nation style, fist below palm. "I go by many names, Your Highness; I had to give the one most befitting a humble servant to a leader of your class."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "A peasant who has learned respect. How refreshing," she said contemptuously. "You have not answered fully my question. I did not ask a name, I asked for who you are."

"Pardon me, Your Highness. I come here in place of Ri Chan, who was second in command of the Mehrs. Master Ri was killed in a skirmish only yesterday. I was his page." Naina thanked her stars that she had planned out this part of Zaira's tale. Unfortunately, after this, she was left to a blank.

"And why was no one intelligent enough to tell me of this…new complication until now?" Every detail of her plans had to be mapped; there was no getting around them. And now, she would be forced to rethink her tactics after losing such a high officer.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness; I was only told a few hours ago, as I am but a simple page. I do not know why there was no dispatch to get you this information." Hopefully, there would be no consequences in such a vague lie.

She alone knew that the Fire Nation's underground secret service, the Zinnias, had intercepted and killed the messenger. But word had not gotten out that this had happened; the general assumption was that Azula had finished the boy off in her anger.

"Hmm. There is something different about you. Where are you from?" Azula stared at her tanned face.

Naina quickly bowed again, supplying the truth this time. "From where I come, we call it Solan, the land of the Sun. He is of the highest veneration."

"It must be an early colony of the Fire Nation then, from Fire Lord Sozin's time. I take it you are a Firebender?"

Naina gave another internal sigh; this time relieved. Back at the university, one of her courses was Fire Magery. And by her luck, she was not new to being a Fire Mage; her power had been discovered at an early age. However, she knew nothing of the styles of Firebending, nor was her control impeccable.

"Yes, I do have the ability to control fire; yet I have never had a Sifu, so I am a novice bender. Back in Solan, I was working for my family, so never had the time to find a master. But I progressed, since I am capable with a sword." Fencing was another of her abilities. True to her word, she excelled in that class, close to beating the master himself.

"Fine. Since I do not employ non-benders, nor do I care for uncontrolled bending, I shall have my cousin, Rokon, teach you. He has little patience for sniffles and cowards, so you had better progress quickly." Azula had taken to this peasant girl; there was something about her that made her intriguing. There was no use killing her now, when she could have the pleasure of defeating the child in an Agni Kai.

Naina's impassive mask gave way to surprise; she had just won over Princess Azula, known for her ruthlessness and disdain for peasantry. Such a diplomatic friendship would surely spare her life. Bowing even lower, she expressed her gratitude both towards the Princess and to whatever spirit out there who had saved her life. "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Yes. Now take me to base headquarters. I need to evaluate the soldiers once again; there shall be no more trifling losses to my cavalcade. Your Ri Chan will be the last of my regiment to die when not under my will." She looked forward, perfectly groomed hair fluttering in the gentle wind.

"This way." Naina extended her arm to the North. Though she knew not the location of base headquarters for the Mehrs, she knew that there would be stationed spies at the edge of the forest, ready to be bodyguards for their Princess.

* * *

**Let me know if something is confusing and ambiguous, I'll be happy to explain! **

**But something that you should know for the next chapter: the Mehrs are a rebel group to the new Fire Nation leadership (Zuko), and are spearheaded by Azula. The Zinnias are similar to the CIA in the US, as a secret underground organization that protects the nation and its ruler. They are not directly under the control of Fire Lord Zuko, but under the new Fire Nation bureaucracy. He is not a dictator, unlike previous Fire Lords.**

**The names of OCs in this story are mostly made up, with the exception of Naina and Ri Chan. Their names mean eyes and Sun (Ri), respectfully. Chan is just a word of respect given to teachers, sifus, or gurus.**

**Review please!  
**


	3. Dual Identity, Duel Blade

They entered the cavern, which had been renovated into usable space by the Dai Li. Flanked on either side by Mehr spies, both Azula and Naina took in the expansive room for the first time. Posters of prime targets lined the walls, interspersed between Fire Nation hangings each bearing Azula's emblem.

Most soldiers were bowing low; others had fallen to their knees at the sight of their leader. Taking their cue, Naina, too, bowed, her thoughts quite sardonic. _At this rate, my back's going to become permanently stooped. I think I've bowed to this egotistic girl ten times in the past two hours!_

As to be expected of her, Azula ignored them, save for a glance, choosing instead to admonish Naina. "Why do you follow me? I have no use for you." Forced to take on again her subservient roles, she answered in oily politeness, "Pardon me, ma'am, but the late Ri Chan was my superior officer. Now I must keep you protected in his absence."

Azula raised her eyebrow, wielding her power as one does a sword. "Very well. I will assess your intellectual and swordsmanship abilities in an hour's time in the Northern Regiment Arena. Have you a sword? As she spoke, servants rushed forward, taking her cloak and fanning her.

"No, your Highness. I had not the funds to procure one." She hung her head convincingly.

"And Ri never thought to get you one?" She crossed her arms, frowning. When Naina shook her head, she said vehemently, "Well, if he could not have the foresight to provide his own page a sword, and to be killed in something as stupid as a border skirmish, then perhaps he deserved to go. Qin, bring Zaira a sword."

Qin nodded. "Yes, your Highness."

Azula followed one of the servants, walking into a maze of hallways; one presumably leading to the residential area of the rebellion's officers. Once Azula had disappeared from sight and Qin returned with an exquisite sword, Naina asked in a law voice, "Qin, can you help me find my quarters? I cannot for the life of me find my way in this maze."

Qin bowed slightly, saying "Yes, come this way, ma'am." As he turned on his heel, Naina raised her eyebrows. She guessed that Ri Chan's death had led her to being promoted. She followed him down the same corridor Azula had taken, but instead of making a left at a fork, Qin made an abrupt right. He walked a few feet, and stopped, turning quickly. He lit a fire in his hands, and held it up to Naina's startled face.

"I have not seen you before, and I knew Zaira. You are not the late Ri Chan's page. Are you a Zinnian spy?" He slipped into a fighting stance, still keeping the fire trained on her face. His anger was short lived, turning into surprise when she sighed, looking around for prying ears. Suddenly, she pushed past him deeper into the hallway, grabbing his arm and dragging him along. She looked at him, reading his face as he regained his stature.

"Can I confide in you, Qin?" Her face was earnest, making him bemused. Unexpectedly, he scowled and shot a ball of fire directly into her face. Quick on reflexes, Naina parried the flames with her suddenly unsheathed sword, ducking in anticipation of another blow. Playing on the defensive, she blocked several more attempts to fry her, continuing to talk. "Well, judging from your obvious loyalty to the Mehrs, I take it that I can confide in you." She heaved a fake sigh. "If only you'd listen…"

Qin glared defiantly at her. "Such bold words for one who can hardly hold her own against a messenger," he growled, twisting and shooting an inferno at her through his feet. Naina raised her eyebrows and remained silent, choosing instead to force him to eat his words. She easily dodged the attack before returning it with a flick of her blade. The flames sprang back at a flabbergasted Qin, effectively distracting him in his efforts to parry it.

In the split second it took him to block the returning fire by raising his arms over his face, Naina moved. Before he had winced, she had pinned both his arms and neck behind the flat of her sword. "You were saying?" Her voice was cool and confident, not a trace of tiredness behind it. She smirked at his fear, wishing it had been a longer fight.

Qin, in comparison, had paled, breathing heavily and sweating. "I can only ask you to kill my quickly," he said, defeated.

Naina withdrew her sword. "You never called for help, both a brave and foolish thing to do. Were I really a spy and made such short work of you, you would never have been able to alert the others of an infiltration into the Mehrs. Besides, if I killed you now, who would show me my quarters and the Northern Regiment Arena?"

He gaped at her, jaw hanging slightly open. "Well, if you are not a spy, then _who are you_? You do not seem to be Fire Nation – no proper Fire Nation warrior would ever leave her quarry alive. You managed to defeat a firebender without any bending at all. Why are you here and why have you taken Zaira's identity?"

"You're more observant that I gave you credit for," she mused. "Alright, suppose I was to tell you my purpose and position here, what would you do with that information?" He eyed her sword, which hung loosely in her hand.

He ignored her question, asking one of his own. "Are you a friend of Zaira's?" He gazed warily at her, slowly regaining his spent energy.

"Yes, and no," she said, sheathing her sword. "I know her well, but she has never met me. It's a complex idea to put a mind around, but I need you to take it in your stride: I am Zaira now. My arrival, I think, resulted in her disappearance. I do not know where she is now, but I do know that she's safe. I'm only telling you all of this because you seem to be a friend of hers, and now I must take her place in the rebellion. I must ask you again; what are you going to do with this information?"

She waited a moment, surveying the hallway while he took in her words. "For now, I will keep them to myself, but I need to know why you are here. I cannot condone anything being done to harm Lady Azula." He folded his arms, leaning back against the wall.

"I have not formulated a purpose to my being here yet, but I am on your side; I will not try to harm her. For the time being, the purpose of the Mehrs is my own, and I will fight for it. But now time has passed, and I need to find my room as well as the arena." She glanced at one of the torches lining the wall, where it had burned down, leaving a pile of soot below.

He eyed her for a second, deciding whether to instill his trust in her or not. "For now," he reminded her finally, receiving a nod in response. He turned, leading her back down the corridor and up the other, making another left before stopping in front of a door adjacent to a more decorated one. Naina glanced at it, noting the guards outside and the servants' bell hanging beside it.

Qin pushed open her door, leading her inside. "That's Azula's room," he informed her. "This used to be Ri Chan's room, and Zaira stayed in the hall behind this one. Look, there's a door over there leading to her old room. Now Ri is gone, Zaira was next in line to take his position, even though she was only a page. Her level of skill was higher than the other officers' skill, but not enough to trump Ri's. Ri had shown mercy to her during a duel, so she became his page instead of the third officer. It's something about honor and duty; I never fully understood it."

His dry humor made Naina chuckle, but she shook her head and asked him, "So who lives there now?" She pointed to the adjoining room's door.

"Nobody. The space is for you to use now; the room is locked from that hallway, so you can only get in from this side. Most officers have the extra rooms, for future pages that may need to occupy them. You do not have much time before Azula wants to see you; it is best that you arrive at the arena a few minutes before she does." He glanced at a light-powered clock on the wall. The torch beside it that provided its power was still burning high.

"Sure, let's go."

Qin led her through the door that joined hers to the extra room, taking a key off the wall at the other end of the space. He unlocked the door, waited for her to get through, and locked it once more. "Here's the key, if you need to get through here for any reason." She took it, pocketing the silver object.

"This is a shorter way towards the arena, but you really should not be in this corridor. It is meant for lower soldiers and servants only. Since we are short on time, though, I will show you the other way later." He looked to the right, facing an empty wall. Bending a small stream of fire at the center, he waited until a hole was illuminated in the upper right corner – something a spy would have missed.

Naina watched in fascination as Qin pressed a finger into the hole, triggering some sort of release mechanism. The wall opened, revealing a tunnel, at the end of which was a dim light. Naina turned to watch the wall slide back together, noticing two large steel doors. She smiled. A few hours earlier, she would have laughed at the prospect of meeting Azula, taking Zaira's place, and walking through a not-quite-so-primitive secret passage in the heart of Mehr headquarters.

She followed Qin through the tunnel, to find that it opened back into the forest. A few hundred meters ahead, she saw a clearing, which had been lined with metal walls and sentries. A quiet murmur told her that there was already an audience to watch her assessment. Qin stopped near the entrance, to give her a solemn look. "I cannot enter from here. Good luck." After a moment's hesitation, he held out his hand; a sign of acceptance.

"Thanks for this, Qin. I have one more question, though." She returned the handshake, speaking again. "Would others here be able to know me apart from the real Zaira?"

He looked cast down. "No, you look much like her. I was only able to deduce your false identity because I knew her well."

"You miss her." It wasn't a question, and Naina knew the answer.

"She was a good friend." He looked away.

"Qin, listen to me. She is safe, and will return when the time comes. I promise you that." He didn't look fully convinced, but nodded regardless.

Naina spared him a parting smile before donning a determined and confident expression. As the noise of the audience rose, she strode into the arena, hand ready to unsheathe her sword.

Standing in the middle of the arena, wind blowing her hair about, she waited for her adversary. Within moments, a man strode in from the opening in front of her, looking up at the crowds.

She watched him with a keen eye, ready for any attack that was to come. Instead, Azula's amplified voice rang through the arena, silencing the soldiers. "Zaira, meet my cousin Rokon. He is our best firebender and swordsman, too. Like me, he is descended from past Fire Lord Sozin, whose revolutionary ideas sparked more than a hundred years of prosperity for our great nation. Beat him at his own game."

Naina's eyes flicked back to the man, who had advanced several feet while she was watching Azula. She unsheathed her sword, bending low into an aggressive stance. Knowing the first rule of combat, she waited. _Never be the first to strike – it puts you at a great disadvantage, and furthermore, shows you as being in a hurry_. Her master's words echoed through her head.

Rokon stepped closer, strategically placing himself to her left, after noting that her sword was held in her right hand. In the excited silence that fell, a breeze sent a faux calmness into the arena.

Suddenly, he thrust forward, driving the point of his sword towards her. Naina smiled slightly, flipping to her left and kicking her legs low, aiming to make him lose balance. He sidestepped, striking at her again.

Flipping backwards, she kicked his sword upwards with a booted foot. It shot out of his fingers and into the air, but he deftly caught it before she had returned into her stance. "You're better than I expected," he informed her.

She tilted her head in acknowledgement, but said nothing; choosing instead to dive towards him, point towards his chest. He stepped backwards, parrying with a flick of his wrist. Arm out in traditional fencing style, he stepped forward, aiming at the point he had made vulnerable with his parry.

He was quick, but she managed to duck back just as his sword pierced skin. "Touché," she muttered, not giving a glance to her torn shirt. Nevertheless, it was only a scratch on her arm, and was hardly a score on his part. She feinted to the right, and again to the left, making him leave himself open.

She struck forward, hitting just below his right collarbone. "Hmm," he said, "That's the fastest someone has been able to hit me." He moved to his offensive again, and she retreated.

Suddenly, she ran towards one of the borders of the arena, surprising him. "Where are you going?" he shouted, running after her. Moments before hitting the wall, she sprang up, kicking the ground for an extra jump. Standing on the narrow ledge formed by the wall, she began her attack once again, at an advantage because of the height.

Rokon knew he couldn't balance on the ledge because of his bulkier gait, so he worked to bring her down by the ankles. She performed a balestra, hopping above his oncoming blade before landing on its flat edge. As his blade was trapped, she flipped over him and lunged, hitting his shoulder blade.

The broken time of her actions sent him ducking awkwardly, landing on his back instead of his feet. As she drove in, he rolled to the side, jumping to his feet and taking advantage of her downward momentum. With the butt of his sword, he knocked into her back, making her reel. Once her sword was stuck in the ground, she jumped behind, dodging another attack.

"That will bruise," she told him, squaring her shoulders to alleviate the numbness that followed his blow. He shrugged, settling back into a beginning stance. "Payback. I have never been hit twice in a row by any opponent, so I chose to resort to the more…effective methods."

"Cheating, you mean." She backed up until she was against the wall. He couléd, and then moved to a direct attack, thinking she had no way to move. Instead, she jumped up and kicked against the wall, rolling forward and past him. He turned on his heel, chasing after her and making a jabbing cut to the right.

She counter-parried, and then fleched, leaping off her leading foot, making a hit, and then passing her opponent at a run. He rubbed his arm, muttering something unintelligible as he turned to meet her attack.

Naina raised an eyebrow at his more wary expression and said, "I see you've lost your smugness for this bout. Any more words to offer?" He rolled his eyes, making a passata-soto – lunging while dropping his hand to the ground. He kicked her legs out from under her knocking her down. His blade approached her face, and he said cockily, "Yeah, I win."

Instead of closing her eyes in fear, she returned his cocky smile. "Maybe, but I still have my sword, and you've left your left side wide open." She arched her back, jumping up and smashing her hilt into his side.

He grunted, curling over slightly as his rib cracked. She slid behind him, knocking his sword out of his hand. He frowned, rolling low to avoid being hit. His retreat brought him to his sword, though, which had fallen to the ground only feet away. Even Naina didn't have _that_ much energy.

He pulled it upwards, counter-parrying another attack, and playing on the defensive line. "That hurt, you know. I don't appreciate it."

"All's fair," she countered.

Suddenly, he pushed his sword into the ground, swinging around it and kicking dirt into her eyes. "You're right," he told her, "All _is_ fair."

Instead of looking frustrated, she grinned blindly. "Using my arguments against me, are we? Well, then," She crouched low, uncannily dodging his sword and flung dirt into his face.

Laughing, she wiped her face, and pushed him over as he stumbled backwards, dropping his sword as his hands flew to his eyes. When he had rid his face of dirt and looked up at her, shocked, she pointed her sword at his face. "I'm not going to kill you, because according to Lady Azula, you are supposed to teach me firebending." She looked up, raising an eyebrow to where she was seated.

Azula's face was unreadable as usual, but she finally nodded. Naina looked back down at Rokon, moving her sword to the side. Sheathing it, she extended a hand towards him. Staring at her, he took it and stood.

"I think we have a bit to learn from each other, Zaira. I can't have you beating me like this every time. Nice fight, though."

* * *

**The fencing terms were found off the internet, though most of them are explained right there. If you have a question, let me know. (Or, if something is used incorrectly - I don't fence myself, though I'd love to).**

**ATLA, bending, and Azula (c) to Mike DiMartinez and Bryan Koneitzko (hopefully I spelled those right!)**

Naina, Qin, Rokon, Zaira, and emblem (c) to me. (Speaking of which, these are pretty much all of the OCs in the whole story. Of which at least two of them play little to no part.)

**Questions? Comments? Review Please!**

~iamtheblindbandit


	4. A Seed Sown

"Keep your hands high! Back upright! Sit lower!"

Naina rolled her eyes at him, but settled into her stance, alert for any sign of attack. As she moved her hand to sweep her hair out of her face, she spotted the twitch of a finger in the periphery of her vision.

Thinking quickly, she dropped to her hands, bringing her feet around in a fiery kick, hoping to make him lose balance. Unfortunately, it was easily blocked, and the returning blast singed her arm. "Ah!" Falling from her hands, she slipped into a sitting position, trying to nurse her arm from burning.

Rokon sighed, signaling a servant and crouching down to help her. "In firebending, the best tactic is to stay on your feet. Bending is much faster than sword fighting, mind you. Do you think in a fight that you can just stop in this way? That your opponent wouldn't take advantage of you? If I wasn't so att- If I were a better teacher, I wouldn't have stopped fighting, you know." When she didn't answer, he looked up at her preoccupied face, and back at the burn.

In a gentler tone, he said, "Hey, listen, this doesn't look too bad; it'll be gone in no time. Ah, here -"

The servant had come with a balm, which Naina rubbed gingerly onto her arm. "Unlike you, I'm not that burn resistant unfortunately, Rokon. I'm not used to these wounds either, so it affects me more so than a sword wound." This was one of the times she wished her mother were there. Mamá was a domestic mage, instead of a warrior mage like Naina. Among her specialties was healing, and she could remedy a burn within seconds.

"I've noticed. You haven't done much by way of combat bending, have you?" His questioning face studied hers.

She blushed in her obviousness and embarrassment, finally looking up to meet his eyes, but realizing their close proximity. Looking away, she answered, "No. Just rudimentary stuff."

She stood, sliding back into her stance, concentration enough for her to ignore the pain in her arm. "I want to try again," she told him, voice strong. He nodded, standing behind her.

Moving slowly in a circle, he tested her reflexes with feints. When she didn't allow a single flinch, he suddenly sprang, hurling a fistful of fire at her. Prepared, she successfully blocked it, turning to shoot a steady stream of flames back at him.

The lesson continued in this manner for several hours, with more care on Naina's part to not be hit. At the lesson's close, both teens flopped down onto the ground, exhausted. Rokon, after a few moments of panting, said "You've improved, but there is still much for you to learn. We'll have another session in two days' time. Get some rest and let that burn heal: things are going to become increasingly difficult."

And so they did. He taught her complex maneuvers, some of which he had even made up himself. They involved twists and turns, power and concentration; she realized how graceful and almost dancer-like a bender had to be. Firebending was no exception to that rule, either: When he showed her something he called the Phoenix Eye, she felt as if he were dancing, whirling around her, the flames flowing from his fingertips like ribbons.

It took her a while to master that move – she had never been among the most graceful even in her own world. But the sense of accomplishment that accompanied her jubilant laughter when she finally managed radiated from her, reaching Rokon, lifting the corners of his mouth in a smile. He often seemed pleased by her happiness, and how easily it came. She smiled at everything from mastering a new and difficult move to the way they were always watched by Azula's spies. She found hilarity in the fact that Azula trusted not even her top officers, one of them being a cousin.

Of course, he noticed those times when she seemed despondent, too. The day he had shown her lightning and how to produce it, she looked as if she was about to burst into tears, but he knew not to ask her: she missed those she had left behind, and some memories were too powerful to be overcome even in the Kaji Toride (Fortress of Fire).

She sometimes had a sad gleam in her eye, and she constantly hummed lullabies from her past. When it rained, Naina had taken to standing with the sentries at the mouth of the fortress, watching the drops fall past her face.

When those times came, he used to try to comfort her, trying to find out what was wrong. But her answer was always the same: "Solan is a place of memories for me. Sometimes, I feel as if I come from an entirely different world all together." And he never understood it past a feeling of homesickness.

In any case, she brightened up at the prospect of a spar, in which their rules were always: no bending, swords and minds only. Most often, she would win, after a long match. In the times he won, she'd stick out a tongue at him, but laughed and gave him a high-five.

During one of these spars, Rokon thought he had heard footsteps and mumbling in the corridor behind the training grounds, but did not dare avert his eyes from the sharp and agile tip of Naina's sword.

She, however, saw Azula walking past with a man dressed in servant or low officer's garb. Knowing they were being watched, she did not change the course of her rapid fencing movements or let the curiosity and anxiousness slip past her mask of concentration. Soon enough, she was thrown back into the adrenaline of their swords clashing, and she nearly forgot about the princess' arrival.

"Tell me, Teikerai, what have you learned about the girl? And what have you noted about their practices?" Azula asked the spy for a report.

Almost anxiously, he bowed, as she continued watching Zaira and Rokon fence. "The girl does not speak much of her past, but she seems a little homesick sometimes. When she does speak, it is always of a land she calls Solan, and about her old fencing master. She answers none of the rest of his questions about where she came from. Zaira had a short absence from here just before your arrival, Your Highness, though she has yet to speak of what happened during it. She was with her master Ri when he died; she must have escaped somehow."

Azula did not remove her keen eyes from the pair, and Teikerai looked nervously at her. "I did learn one important thing that may come of use: she seems almost to fear lightning. She shrinks away from it, and when he first taught her how to control it, she had taken a very long time to be able to bend it. She still has trouble, even now that they've moved on."

He was about to say more, but he caught sight of Zaira's innocent and smiling face as she sheathed her sword with a customary bow to Rokon. He did not want to provide any more information that may get the child killed.

Azula finally turned to him, thoughtful. "Lightning. I see. And Rokon? How has he taken to being her teacher? He seems only too pleased, despite just having lost a duel to the girl."

Teikerai had no guilt stopping him from talking this time. "He seems to have developed affection for the girl, though she seems blissfully unaware. They fight like this often, and he tends to lose most of the time, but they are almost equally matched in swordsmanship. He is still her superior in firebending, though; she has yet to find the inner grace bending requires." Then, looking at Azula's raised eyebrow, and back towards Zaira and Rokon, he added, "He sometimes grumbles about the pointlessness of the rebellion, when she is not listening. He desires peace more than the restoration of glory to our wronged nation."

"Is the girl ready for an Agni-kai?" A single question; it held more danger than a starved wildcat.

"No, not by any means! It was only a couple weeks earlier that she even began learning combat bending; it was only the basics until then!" Sputtered Teikerai, looking horrified.

"Very well. You may go."

Teikerai hurried off, trying not to imagine what atrocities Her Highness had on her dangerous mind.

Azula, however, stayed a moment, hidden by the shadows, watching the two of them banter. Once or twice, she thought she saw Rokon staring, especially when Zaira laughed. Her plans were ahead of the couple. Far, far ahead…

* * *

"Zaira," Rokon called on her as she was returning to her rooms after another firebending lesson.

She turned, blinking as the sun burst forth from behind a cloud. "Mhm?" She raised an eyebrow as he looked warily around.

"Come with me," he said finally, extending a hand out to her.

"What's this about?" she asked, taking it. He looked over his shoulder, and, seeing no one, continued into the forest before he spoke.

"I need to talk to you away from prying ears, that's all. There are things I've to tell you, which Azula really needn't a report for. She knows, anyway."

Confused, she shrugged, following him as he ducked past a tree and into a well-hidden cave. She was surprised when he didn't stop, however, despite the complete darkness past the yawning mouth. "Where are you taking me?" she ventured, curiosity getting the better of her.

Instead of answering, he just took her hand again, telling her to crouch. Almost as suddenly as they had happened on the cave, its height was reduced, and they had to crawl. After a minute or two, Naina saw a bright patch of light ahead, and she smiled. Another Kaji Toride secret passage.

The cavern spit them out into a small clearing, in a corner of which was a moss-covered log. Rokon made his way toward it, patting the moss next to him as he sat. "I really don't like to be the bringer of bad news, as calm as you are…" he began, almost hesitantly. Instead of pressing, she just looked at him expectantly.

Taking a deep breath, he tried again. "I've been assigned to the Earth Kingdom. My ferry departs tomorrow; the world leaders are planning diplomatic talks in Katai Shi early next month, and I'm to scout." Looking away from her shocked face, he continued; as if afraid he wouldn't be able to go on if he stopped talking.

"As much as I enjoy this peace between nations, and as much as I deny Azula's idea of a Fire-dominated world, I must go, if I even want a chance at life. Her orders were clear that I mustn't tell you this, but…" he returned his amber-gold gaze to her face.

"Well, I think that you deserve to know. We're close friends now, and it isn't right for you to not be aware of the fact that I'm being sent to Katai Shi."

A silence filled the clearing, and not even a breeze disturbed them.

Quietly, as if afraid the trees would hear her and make her words ring true for him, she said, "Katai Shi? The Steadfast City; the one that the Fire Nation attempted to lay siege to at the beginning of the war…their failure was so great the feat was hushed up, and now many think the attack to be a myth? The third city of the Earth Kingdom, even more impenetrable than Ba Sing Se; you're being stationed _there_?! What did you do to deserve that?"

Naina looked at him as if afraid he'd blow away before her eyes.

"The attack was no myth." His voice was barely a whisper, and he looked at the ground, eyes distant.

She looked at him, horrified. "But then, the chances of you being caught are –"

"Far higher than I'm comfortable with, I know."

Distress shone through her eyes like a beacon, and he dragged his face up to look at hers as she spoke. "If you're captured, the chances of you coming back, even staying alive –"

Frustrated, he stood, sparks dancing at his fingertips as he nearly lost control. "I know, I know! There is absolutely no possibility of my return, although I guess we can rest easy with the fact that many of them are far too noble to kill me. I'll just be their prisoner until I do actually die!" She flinched visibly at that word, and he calmed down.

Sitting back down next to her, he said gently, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose control like that."

"No, it's not your fault. What could you possibly have done to warrant her sending you there? I've been by your side more often than not; you've never said or done anything that might displease her enough to do this to you!" Her concern touched him.

"I don't know," he said softly. "But I must follow her orders if I want to continue my life at least until I reach Katai Shi. I brought you here because I wanted you to know and because I wanted to see you one last time before…" He trailed off, unable to continue.

Eyes wet with unshed tears, she threw her arms around him. "This can't be the last time I see you. It won't be; I know you'll be able to go there and come back alive – you have to!" Her words were fierce, strong, but she herself didn't believe them. "You'll stay alive for me, won't you?" she said into his shoulder.

Hugging her closer, he told her, "I'll try my very hardest, Zaira. I'm selfish; I want to come back to see you, because I've realized something in these past months: I love you."

She froze and stiffened slightly, eyes wide with surprise. "I…" she stopped, remembering she may never see him again. Though she did love him, it wasn't in the way he meant. Rokon was her closest friend, the brother she'd always wanted. But she didn't want to hurt him, ever.

She pulled away from the hug, and gave him a soft smile. "We're universes apart, you and I. But this is a language I understand." She would let him think she returned his love, but would utter no promise that could hurt him later.

He gave a smile, but she could readily see the sadness and fear reflected in his eyes when he looked at her. He was afraid of losing himself, and by extension, losing her.

"Would you mind spending the rest of the day with me?" He sounded as if he were making a dying man's final wish.

"Of course."

* * *

**Please Review! Especially if something is confusing - I'll be more than glad to explain things in detail.**

**In the next (and maybe the one after that) chapter, things are going to get really exciting, and we get to see the seed of a plan Azula has planted grow. Guesses as to what's happening next?**

**Visit my Deviantart - illustrations! Sepulchral-roses(dot)deviantart(dot)com**

**~iamthebindbandit  
**


	5. New Revelations

Rokon crouched down, though he was weary from the full day's journey on the open water. As a troop of soldiers went by, he ducked his head behind a bush, hoping that the peasant stink he'd gotten on the ship wouldn't attract their attention.

A beetle whirred past his face, making his nose itch. The balmy weather was enough, but bugs? It was as if Azula had planned for him to have the worst time of his life. He held back a sneeze.

Earlier that morning, he had donned a disguise, wearing colorless rags and smearing a bit of mud on his face. If the people didn't know him, they knew his cousins, and unfortunately enough, he had a striking similarity to the new Fire Lord. Luckily, most of the other passengers on the ship were dirty, after hours of toiling on farms or other labor.

He remembered that he once used to look down haughtily at peasants and other poor folk, born and brought up a royal as he was. But the journey led him to have a new found respect for them – though they were dirty and stank like the pigs they worked with, they were kind folk, happy with their lives, and not needing grandeur or luxury to live. They were simple and honest, something which he couldn't say even for the most wonderful of his class.

More than once, he had been offered company, food, or provisions, though they hadn't much on their own. Each time, he politely refused, not wanting to take their food from them.

He looked up, waiting for the road to clear. He scowled, frustrated, when he saw two guards standing not a few feet away, talking animatedly about one of the village girls.

Rolling his eyes, he realized that the whole area was going to be swarming with these goons; of course the guard system of the Steadfast City would extend to the suburbs and ports! He had to get a better disguise. He turned, slowly, so his movements wouldn't be caught, and retreated into the small forest. There _had_ to be some way in. And he did have to find a place to stay, anyway.

He found himself back at the docks in an hour, watching an almost comical scene unfold.

"My cabbages! Ayah! Nobody respects them!" A cabbage merchant was shouting and gesturing frantically at two small boys, who had dropped a fish accidentally, and the wheel of the merchants cart had slid on it, dropping its precious cargo all over the area. They mumbled apologies, looking both frightened and amused.

"You can apologize all you want, but who will buy these cabbages now? Nobody wants trampled, dirty vegetables!" He continued shouting as the boys stammered more apologies and ran for their lives.

Rokon cleared his throat, stooping to pick up a few cabbages that had fallen by his feet. He had found his way into the city. Wiping some of the mud from his face, he returned them to the fuming merchant.

"How much do you want for the whole cart? I'll buy them all from you, and the cart, if you'll sell it." He looked earnestly at the man.

The crabby cabbage merchant appraised him with a skeptical stare. "How can a peasant have the money to buy all of my cabbages?" He stood in front of his cart, arms crossed protectively.

"Never mind how, but I assure you, I have the money. The question is if you are willing to sell them all to me."

The merchant stared. "I do not sell to robbers." With that, he re-hitched his ostrich horse to the cart and began moving through the fishermen.

"Wait, sir! Listen, my money is all honest money. I need your cabbages to get into the city. You see, my wife was diagnosed with a terrible, crippling illness, and the physicians inside the city are helping her, fortunately. But the guards will not let me in to see her. They suspect everyone and everything now that the Avatar and other world leaders are coming for diplomacy." He carefully arranged his face into one of pleading sadness.

The cabbage merchant turned, looked at Rokon for a long minute, judging the truth of his story, and finally said, "I won't sell you the ostrich-horse. He belongs to the family."

In less than half an hour, Rokon pushed his cart towards the two guards, who stopped bickering and questioned him. Innocently, he assured them that he was to sell the cabbages inside the city. "They are the finest money can buy! I'm sure the king will want to serve the Avatar the finest cabbages he can get! In fact, why don't you buy some, eh? Share them with your family; they'll be sure to thank you!" He smiled brightly.

"No, no, I don't want any of your cabbages. Go on." The guard opened the gate, allowing Rokon to pass. "Cabbages!" He called out randomly on the streets, hoping that his act was convincing.

Soon enough, he reached the gates of the city itself, more considerable than what he'd heard of Ba Sing Se. He smiled. He'd even been able to sell a few of the vegetables and make a good show of it. Despite himself, he realized that he was having a small amount of fun.

Looking at the guards manning the outer wall, he offered to sell them some of the load off his precious cart. When they refused, he frowned slightly, and then brightened. "Well then, may I at least be allowed to sell my wares in the city?" He looked them in the eye. Luckily, his own eyes were brown, not the royal gold of his more famous cousins he figured that he probably had some Earth Kingdom blood running through his veins, somewhere after Sozin's generation.

Then again, brown was a color most common even in the Fire Nation, and all around the rest of the world as well.

The guard looked him over. "Do you have a permit to sell in the city?"

Rokon faltered. "P-permit? I haven't heard of such a permit. I have sold in Omashu, Ba Sing Se, Gaoling, and Nan Shan; all over the Earth Kingdom, and I have never needed a permit!"

"Well, there _is_ a reason this city is called Katai Shi, you know. No permit, no entrance."

"Well then where would I get such a permit?" He frowned, grimacing internally. This was going to be more complicated than he expected.

"Governor's office. It's in the suburb of Taiping." The guard pointed south.

Rokon sighed. "Thank you."

He pushed the cart back down the road, beginning to make his way south. He would have to walk all the way to Taiping, somehow convince the governor of his validity as a merchant, walk back, and then ask for entrance again. There _had_ to be another way!

He passed a shop selling clothes from all four nations. He stopped, looking at the Fire Nation display. _Well_, he thought, _I_ do _look like Zuko_.

But would the same ruse that had worked with Azula work for him now? She had managed to infiltrate and stage a coup in Ba Sing Se, under the identity of the Kyoshi Warriors; he didn't expect that much success, but would posing as his cousin gain him entrance to the city? He _had_ to try.

He rented a room at an inn for the night, stowing his cabbage cart in a stable. He thanked the Spirits that he had remembered to bring plenty of money.

Wandering wearily to the dining hall of the inn, he sat on a barstool, and ordered a Badgermole's Paw. The strong drink cleared his mind a little, and he let out a long, slow sigh. It had been an excruciatingly long day.

"So, did you hear that the Fire Lord's envoy comes in tomorrow? They've tightened all the security a hundred times! As if any of us want to start another war. But they received a threat; some rebel group in the Fire Nation itself is going to try to assassinate him." Rokon choked on his drink, but forced himself not to look behind him at the man speaking. It would be too obvious.

"No rebel group could have formed so fast, and be organized enough to kill the kid now. I think that's just flying from the boar's mouth." A second man answered, pounding his fist on the table as if to prove his point.

"Naw, it ain't gossip. I heard it from Uncle Jee, and he doesn't lie." A third man agreed with the first.

"Well, in my opinion, I think the Fire Lord is well protected anyway. He has some powerful allies." It was a girl's voice this time, and Rokon turned, despite himself.

A small figure sat at the bar to his right, face shrouded by a hooded cloak. The other men laughed; the sound mingling with the hubbub of the other people in the inn.

"And how would you know, girl?"

Rokon saw a grin beneath the hood. "Pubs are the best place to learn things," she informed them. "And besides, everyone knows that he's traveling with the Avatar, a master Earthbender, a master Waterbender, and excellent swordsman. Plus, he's got his 6th Division with him. And that I heard on the port, from some fisherman who reported seeing them."

"That may all be true, but he doesn't take his 6th Division to the bathroom or into his bedroom, does he?" The man laughed.

"The Earthbender can feel any attacks. I've heard that she's blind, but she sees with Earthbending. I don't really understand it myself, but I'd think twice before underestimating it. I heard that the last two guys to do that were locked in a metal box. She's a Metalbender, too." A quieter man spoke up this time.

"So? Who believes such nonsense, anyway? There's no such thing as a Metalbender! And anyway, no magical seeing will save the kid if someone slips poison into his food, eh?"

"May I ask, gentlemen, this rebel group you're talking about; know anything about it?" Rokon asked them, getting surprised looks. The hooded girl tilted her head towards him, but said nothing. She didn't seem fazed by the fact that he had been listening in.

"Not very much." One of the men leaned forward, his short beard falling into his abandoned drink. "But I heard that the princess escaped a few months ago, and she's rallying resistance against her brother. But she went mad when they took over rule; who's to say that her resistance isn't entirely imaginary?"

"Katai Shi has a good security base anyway, so even if it did exist, there's no way of getting in, right?" Rokon hoped that he wasn't being obvious.

"Well, that's all true, but what they don't know is that there are weak spots. Just today, I saw someone get into the city when the guards were switching between shifts. That's a distracted time for them, and there's a hole in the defenses." The quiet man lowered his voice even more. He too, was wearing a cloak, though the hood only covered his eyes.

"Well, kid, where is this hole? I've been trying to get into the damned city for a week now! Every time, they deny me entrance, sprouting some new excuse. Did you know that they're making merchants get permits from the governor in Taiping? That's something new they've started, just to show the Avatar and his friends how tight their stupid security is, and how great the city it is." The wiry man spat on the dirt floor. "Of course, they don't care that it's hurtin' the rest of us here."

The hooded young man leaned his elbows against the table. "But isn't security a good thing? We were just talking about threats to the Fire Lord's safety, and by extension, threats to the peace they're trying so hard to establish."

"Well, yes, but the city council has taken it a bit too far. They're denying common citizens the right to go into the city. Not every person walking down the road is a damned robber or rebel scout! So tell us, kid, where's this hole? I need to get in, too." The man mopped his soaked beard on his stained shirt.

Rokon looked at him, wondering how someone roughly his own age, if not younger, knew the weaknesses in the guard system. The man was silent, as if contemplating whether to speak aloud. For a split second, Rokon thought he saw the man look towards the hooded girl for assistance.

Suddenly, a waitress tripped somewhere in the back, the drinks flying everywhere. In an attempt at dodging a big tankard of Dragon's Tongue, a man fell across a chair, smacking into a larger man.

It wasn't long before full blown pandemonium erupted, tankards and food flying almost as fast as fists.

"Thanks Toph!" Rokon's eyes snapped up, and he followed the voice to the hooded young man.

"Shut up, Sokka. You know, I'm never letting you drink anything ever again! Who asked you to open your mouth about the security in the first place? And I don't mind being complimented, but you couldn't have been more obvious if you had said 'look, here's Toph, she's scouting ahead to see if anything will go wrong! And by the way, if anyone wants to lock her up, don't use metal, since she can bend it!' Really, what's wrong with you?" The hooded girl growled, dragging him towards the staircase. Rokon watched as they left.

Toph and Sokka – they were close friends of both Zuko and the Avatar.

He crept silently after them, glad that the steps leading to the upstairs rooms were wooden.

Sokka led Toph into her room, and once the door was closed, arguing ensued almost immediately. Rokon hurried quickly to the next room on the right, cursing under his breath when he found it was locked. He then walked silently to the room on the left, which, by some miracle, was unlocked.

He silently let himself in, and then quickly pressed his ear to the wall, hoping to catch little bits of their conversation.

"- my fault! You caught me, didn't you? And besides, I never actually told them that it's in the South wall. All I said was that it exists. And I said that because I, unlike you, understand their position. Not everyone is a high noble who only has to show their face or _family seal_ to get somewhere!" Silence followed Sokka's outburst, and Rokon thought he sensed a deep hurt under it, though he didn't really understand.

"Leave. Right now."

He listened desperately for movement; he didn't know who's room he had crept into, and certainly couldn't be caught spying on Zuko's friends from their own rooms.

Finally, after a few tense seconds, he heard Sokka say, "I'm sorry, Toph, I shouldn't have said that. I know you haven't had it easy with your family, and don't really want all that money, either. I'm really sorry. That was inexcusable."

He thought he heard a slight sniffle. "Then why did you say it?" Rokon was surprised, her voice, from what he'd heard, was like Azula's – it wasn't one that you could expect to hear vulnerability in. But that's exactly what he heard.

Another silence.

And then, finally, "I don't know. And I truly didn't mean it." And then, his voice became more animated. "But did you hear them? They've been hurt because of us! I just…I wish there was some way we could do something."

She snorted, seeming to come back into her sarcastic stature. "Well, this _is_ Katai Shi, meathead. What, did you think we could dress up like Suki and the rest of her hogmonkeys and just walk in like the Princess of Craziness did at Ba Sing Se?"

"Hey, don't call them that!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. But what did you expect, anyhow? That they wouldn't put on a big show and try to be all special for the _Avatar_ and the _Fire_ _Lord_?" She laughed. "It'd be different if they actually liked this kind of stuff. But they're both all soft, like you."

He seemed to ignore the jibe. "Well, I don't know what I expected. But why do they have to overdo it? I mean, their regular security worked all these years, and all through the war. Why'd they tighten it for this conference?"

"Who knows? They're probably just trying to impress. And, then again, they might have heard all the threats against Sparky and Twinkletoes."

_Sparky and Twinkletoes. I wonder if they're codenames._

"That's a possibility; I guess…" he sounded doubtful. "Well, goodnight, Toph."

"Sure, Snoozles."

Rokon scrambled out of the room quickly, and just slipped into the pretense of walking slowly and drunkenly to his own room when the door opened and Sokka stepped out into the hallway.

"Hey, you," Rokon cringed, before turning.

"Yeah?"

"Your sword. Know a place around here I can get one? Mine was – ah – lost on one of my journeys around the Earth Kingdom." He had his hood back on, but Rokon saw the grimace. This, to his luck, meant that they hadn't heard him listening in.

"I think I crossed a blacksmith somewhere on that main road leading to the city. By the way, how did you find out that there was a hole in the defenses? You don't look any older than me."

A frown this time. "Well, I can't tell you where it is, because if too many people use it, then it'll be discovered. But I was scouting the security for a couple days; watching their shifts, their strong and weak spots, everything. And I figured it out, that's all. And it's not a real hole, anyway. It's just a weak spot. May not even be a way in." He shrugged, the hood of his cloak bunching up near his chin.

"I understand. It's not surefire, and it's your own personal way into the city. If I spent time finding something like that, I wouldn't want to share it either." He turned to go to his room.

"Thanks for the directions to the blacksmith, er…"

"Li." Rokon supplied a name. There were a million Li's. And in every nation, too.

"Thanks, Li."

* * *

**Do tell me what you think! Unfortuantely, I completely forgot to upload this chapter when I finished it last week. Sorry for the wait!**

**(It's been posted on deviantart under the username sepulchral-roses. I tend to post stuff there more than here.)  
**


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